This invention relates to devices for mounting outboard motors on the transom of small boats, such as hard shell and inflatable dinghies especially of the type suitable for being carried in a raised, generally vertical stowed position on the stern of a larger boat. More particularly, the invention concerns a mechanism for allowing the outboard motor to be pivoted to and from a stowed position without removing it from a clamped, secured mounting on the dinghy transom ready for use.
Dinghies of all types are often carried on the stern of a pleasure craft using davit systems such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,295 which allow the dinghy to be swung from a horizontal, in-water position about the beams end of the dinghy into a raised vertical, out-of-water stowed position. The davits are often mounted on the swim step or other stern support structure so that one side of the dinghy can be pulled up to place it in the stowed position and carried in a raised stowed condition ready for being launched off the back of the pleasure craft.
In the stowed position, the upper edge of the dinghy transom that supports the outboard motor becomes substantially vertical, an orientation that makes for an awkward, and often hazardous positioning of the outboard thrust or propeller stem. For example, the outboard motor will become horizontal when the dinghy is stowed in the manner described above, projecting the stem outwardly beyond a side of the carrier boat making for a dangerous obstruction. Also the motor including internal fluid cavities and external components may not ride well in the horizontal position. For these reasons, boat owners often remove the outboard motor from the dinghy each time the dinghy is raised into its stowed position on the back of the pleasure craft and then return the motor to the dinghy when it is launched. Furthermore, this requires providing another stowage bracket or location for the outboard motor when the dinghy is stowed and the removing and remounting of the outboard motor can be dangerous to the operator as well as risk dropping the motor into the water.
Other devices and means for solving this problem have exhibited certain disadvantages including difficulty of use, unsafe clamping and securement, excessive weight, cost and susceptibility of damage in marine environments, especially corrosive salt water conditions.